lovendusky



March 24, 196,4 c, LOVENDUSKY 3,126,127

WIRE SELECTING DEVICE Filed Oct. 10, 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. CHARLE s M. L OVENDUSKY BY bMIW W March 24, 1964 Filed Oct. 10, 1960 c. M. LOVENDUSKY 3,126,127

WIRE SELECTING DEVICE s Sheets-Shet 2 INVENTOR. CHARLES H. Loveuousmr MIW+ W March 24, 1964 c. M. LOVENDUSKY 3,125,127

WIRE SELECTING DEVICE Filed Oct. 10, 1960 5 SheetsSheec 5 INVENTOR. Camus: N. Lovzwousm United States Patent 3,126,127 WIRE SELECG DEVICE Charles M. Lovendusky, Enola, Pa, assignor to AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. Filed Oct. 10, 1960, Ser. No. 61,763 Claims. (Cl. 221-210) In the manufacture and assembly of electrical devices, it may be desirable to automate the operation by providing a means for extracting a wire out of a bundle of wires and transferring the wire to the proper station. It is an object of this invention to provide a device for selecting a wire from a bundle of wires and releasing it when desired. It is also an object of this invention to provide a device of the type whereby only a single wire will be selected and removed from the bundle.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a wire pick-up device that is simply constructed, easy to operate and requires no special feeding sequence of the wires.

Other objects and attainments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings in which there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention; it is to be understood, however, that this embodiment is not intended to be exhaustive nor limiting of the invention but is given for purposes of illustration in order that others skilled in the art may fully understand the invention and the principles thereof and the manner of applying it in practical use so that they may modify it in various forms, each as may be best suited to the conditions of a particular use.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of an assembly illustrating the principles of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a top view of the device shown in FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective, partially broken-away view of the wire securing assembly of FIGURES l and 2;

FIGURES 4 and 5 are sectional views taken along plane 4-4 of FIGURE 6;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken through plane 6-6 of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURES 7-9 are fragmentary views illustrating the jaws of the wire-holding device in various stages of operation.

As shown in FIGURE 1, the complete assembly ineludes a base member 18 having a pivoted eccentric cam 12 rotatable thereon. A driving belt 14 secured to the cam is driven by an electric motor (not shown) or any other suitable means. An arm 16 is pivoted to the base at 18 and bears against the cam so that the periphery of the cam actuates the arm. A spring 20 interposed between the arm 16 and the base It urges the arm 16 toward the cam. The arm bobs up and down on the base between crosspiece 22, and has a wire pick-up device, comprising a head portion generally indicated at 24, on the free end thereof. A container 26 is attached to the front end of the base member and is used for holding a plurality of wires to be used in the assembly. The container 26 may have a resilient member 27 for purposes to be described later.

The wire grasping means 24 is best shown in FIGURE 3. It includes a block member 26' which is secured to the arm 16 by screws 28 and 30. The block member has an opening 32 which accommodates a pair of blade-like jaws 3-4 and 36 which are retained in the block by cylindrical member 38. The cylindrical member 38 (made in two half sections for ease in assembly) has a shoulder 46) "ice which is movable in the aperture 32 and accommodates a spring 42. The opposite end of the spring 42 bears against a shoulder 44 in the lower end to retain the jaws within the block. A pair of pins 46 and 48 retain the jaws within the cylindrical member 38. An arcuate surface 50 on the inside of the cylindrical member retains one side of the pin, while the opposite side of the pin bears against a groove 52 on the outside of each of the jaws. This causes the pins to be retained in the cylinder while permitting pivotal motion. Circular depressions 54- and 56 in each of the outside surfaces of the jaws accommodate spring members 53 and 60-. The jaws are thus spring-loaded toward a closed posit-ion.

Complementary angular wedge surfaces 62 and 64 on the inside of the respective jaw surfaces permit a wedge member 66, which is fixed to the bottom part of the block, to project therethrough. As seen in \FIGURE 4, the inside surfaces of the jaws 34 and 36 are disposed at a slight angle when in assembled position. This angle may be adjusted to accommodate the diameter of the wire.

The upper portion of the aperture 32 contains a plug 68 which is threaded into the aperture and restrains upward movement of the cylinder 38. Threading the plug 68 more deeply into the block 44 causes the pin 66 to spread the jaws 34 and 36 further apart. Unthreading the plug 68 decreases the angle between the jaws 34 and 36-. The screw-threaded arrangement makes the device adjustable and a projection or releasing knob 76 projects from the upper surface of the stop means 68. Detents 72 and 74 in the upper surface of the stop permit a wrench to be inserted therein for adjusting it.

The knob 76 projects through the stop means 68 and a flange 76 bears against the upper surface of the cover of the cylindrical member. As shown in FIGURE 5, the releasing knob rides up and down with the cylindrical member.

Operation.A bundle of wires (FIGURE 1) is contained in the basket 26. The driving means actuates the belt 14 to rotate the cam 12 at the desired speed. Rotation of the cam causes the link 16 to move up and down according to the configuration of the periphery of the surface of the cam. Spring 20 forces the arm 16 into a downward position when the arm bears against the low side of the cam. This downward motion of the arm 16 and the accompanying motion of the wire pick-upassembly 24 causes the jaws 34- and 36 to be driven downwardly into the bundle of wires.

Downward motion of the jaws causes a plurality of wires to accumulate between the jaws (note FIGURE 8). The jaws are permitted to open by the rocking motion about the pivot rounds 46 and 48. As the jaws are retracted, spring-loaded means 58 and 60 drive the jaws back together again to retain a wire therein. Because the innermost wire determines the opening of the jaws (FIGURE 9), all the other wires are released. The resilient sleeve 27 in the bottom of the basket permits the jaws to grasp the last few wires in the bundle. The arm 16 thus rides upwardly, driven by the cam, with the single wire between the jaws.

The upward motion continues until the relief knob 70 strikes an abutment 78 (FIGURE 1). The abutment 78 depresses the relief knob 70 (note FIGURE 5) moving the cylinder 38 and the jaws downwardly. Downward motion of the jaws relative to the pin 66 causes the jaws to be opened by the action of the pin 66 hearing against the wedged surfaces 62 and 64. This opening of the jaws releases the single wire at the appropriate station. Continued rotation of the cam insures further cycling of the operation.

It is apparent that any one of a number of wire handling arrangements could be employed in conjunction with the described device. For example, the base member might be mounted on a pivoted turn table. Alternatively, the basket could be pivotally mounted. In either arrangement, an intermittent drive could be used to deliver the wire at the desired station, or to bring the station to the wire.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and various apparently different modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective against the prior art.

I claim:

1. A wire-selecting apparatus including container means for guiding wires to be selected to a central point, jaw means for selecting wires and driving means for driving said jaw means toward and away from said central point in a constant length stroke; the said jaw means including jaw members held in bearing contact at one end thereof by spring members and held apart at the other end by wedge means disposed therebetween; means on said jaw members cooperable with the wedge means for opening the other end of the jaw members, whereby the driving of said jaw means by said driving means to said central point forces said wedge surfaces about a wire to be selected against the force of said spring members to cause said wedge means to actuate said jaw members to grasp a wire, and the driving of said jaw means away from said central point removes said jaw members and said wire from said container means; means responsive to the latter motion to force said jaw members against said wedge means and release the selected wire.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein said container means includes a flexible portion at said central point.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said jaw means includes means for adjusting the position of said wedge means with respect to the wedge surfaces to control the distance between the said jaw means at the said other end.

4. A wire selecting device including wedge means, jaw membersurged in bearing contact at one end thereof by spring means and held apart along the remainder of their length by said wedge means disposed therebetween, means for forcing said jaw members into a group of wires, the said jaws being driven apart by one of said wires, the said one wire being held by the force of said spring means on said jaw members, means for removing said jaw members from said group of wires thereby extracting said one wire, means driving said jaw members against said wedge means to release said one wire.

5. A wire selecting device including a pair of jaw members urged into bearing abutment at one end by spring means and held apart at the other end by pin means disposed therebetween, means for driving said jaw members into a group of wires, one wire being thereby wedged between said jaw members against the force of said spring means, means for withdrawing said jaw members and said one wire from said bundle of wires, means responsive to the withdrawal movement to drive said jaw members against said pin means to open the jaw members and release said one wire.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 687,731 Cunningham Dec. 3, 1901 1,033,531 Brown July 23, 1912 1,905,046 Nicolai et al Apr. 25, 1933 1,962,902 Kunath June 12, 1934 2,070,165 Griffith Feb. 9, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS 525,567 France Sept. 24, 1921 

1. A WIRE-SELECTING APPARATUS INCLUDING CONTAINER MEANS FOR GUIDING WIRES TO BE SELECTED TO A CENTRAL POINT, JAW MEANS FOR SELECTING WIRES AND DRIVING MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID JAW MEANS TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID CENTRAL POINT IN A CONSTANT LENGTH STROKE; THE SAID JAW MEANS INCLUDING JAW MEMBERS HELD IN BEARING CONTACT AT ONE END THEREOF BY SPRING MEMBERS AND HELD APART AT THE OTHER END BY WEDGE MEANS DISPOSED THEREBETWEEN; MEANS ON SAID JAW MEMBERS COOPERABLE WITH THE WEDGE MEANS FOR OPENING THE OTHER END OF THE JAW MEMBERS, WHEREBY THE DRIVING OF 